For Motown stars, Esther Gordy Edwards' funeral felt like a family reunion -- with fewer relatives

AP via Detroit Free PressWilliam "Smokey" Robinson hugs Robert Bullock, the only son of Esther Gordy-Edwards, before funeral services for his mother held Bethel AME Church in Detroit, on Wednesday, Aug., 31, 2011. Hundreds packed the church to give a final goodbye to Esther Gordy Edwards, the sister of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. who helped him build the musical empire and led efforts to preserve the original headquarters in the city. Edwards died last week at age 91.

Arm in arm, three members of the Velvelettes -- Motown's only group with all of its founding members still living -- arrived at Detroit's Bethel AME Church to a throng of photographers and autograph-seekers.

Though the funeral for Esther Gordy Edwards, the sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, was sorrowful, at times it felt like a red carpet premiere. The Velvelettes, and other Motown acts on their heels, posed for pictures and greeted curious fans before taking their seats in the sanctuary. The three girls -- Norma Barbee, Bertha Barbee and Mildred Gill -- all live apart from each other now, but took time to catch up with each other and the other artists in attendance.

"He looks good for 82," Norma Barbee said, pointing at Berry Gordy. But before they could catch him, there was Joe Billingslea of the Contours shouting across to Bertha Barbee.

"I haven't seen you in six months! I didn't know if you were still living or what!" Bertha Barbee said.

It's not often that the stars from Motown's heyday ever meet up in one place. Distance has separated most of the label's singers, songwriters, producers and staff. Still-busy schedules, whether it be tending to family, touring old-school circuits, or, in one particular case, serving on city council, has made little time for leisurely outings. It seems only funerals can bring the gang back together -- and there have been too many of those lately.

"Anything connected to Motown will always be a family affair," Rosalind Ashford, a Vandella, told MLive after the service. "It would be nice to get together more often under different circumstances."

During the service, those who took to the pulpit offered rare glimpses into day-to-day life at Motown not always found in biographies written over the years. When Eddie Holland, who left with Motown to California in the 1970s, sang a dedication to Gordy Edwards, Smokey Robinson remarked it was the first time he'd heard him sing in decades.

"[Berry] used Eddie as demo records for Jackie Wilson," Robinson said. "I haven't heard you sing in 30 years. It's good to hear you, brother."

The Motown family -- or "soldiers," as Robinson prefers -- suffered two blows last week with the back-to-back deaths of Gordy Edwards and songwriter/producer Nick Ashford. Valerie Simpson, Ashford's widow, sent a flower arrangement to Gordy Edwards' service in lieu of her absence.

"We are losing...family, but stronger in spirit and mind," Billingslea told MLive.

After the service, the reunion continued with Claudette Robinson exchanging hugs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir greeting old friends from the neighborhood and the Velvelettes catching up with a hurried Robert "Butch" Bullock, Gordy Edwards' son who brought the group to the attention of the label.

"You feel like a martyr," Bertha Barbee told MLive. "You pinch yourself, and say we really are a part of something that's international."

Still, the ranks are dwindling. A sad topic of conversation among the veterans was who's still left.

"It's a sign of the times," Millie Gill told MLive. "Some people
last longer than others. There are some of us that are still here, but
it's inevitable."